The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) aims to prepare more than 1,000 people across Rhode Island for active shooter situations by training them to use special Active Shooter Response Kits in the case of an “active threat.”

City and state officials gathered Sept. 25 in Cranston as 20 of the kits were distributed as part of the “Stop the Bleed” program.

“Over the next 12 to 18 months, our goal is to train more than 1,500 Rhode Islanders who may find themselves, unfortunately, in a situation where they can offer emergency assistance or an active threat response,” RIEMA director Marc Pappas said.

The event began with a series of speakers, including Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos. Smiley and Matos emphasized that, given the prevalence of gun violence in the United States, people hold a collective responsibility to acknowledge this threat and protect one another against it.

Smiley called the matter of gun violence “a question of when and not if.”

“If we’re not prepared, then we’re going to be responsible for the lives that are lost,” Matos said.

After the speakers finished their remarks, the invited recipients lined up next to the table where 20 red kits were stacked. Among the recipients of the kits were the Coast Guard and emergency responders from different cities and towns across the state. Inside of the kits was medical equipment that community members can be trained to use. Administering training to community members so that they are prepared to use the equipment in order to stop gunshot victims from bleeding out is also a part of RIEMA’s initiative.

Also among the recipients of the kits and the training were the Rhode Island State House and Rhode Island College. However, the kits will not be going to any elementary or secondary schools. “We stayed with state colleges,” said Pappas, due to the fact that RIEMA’s “budget was limited.”

According to Pappas, the initiative is designed with large gathering places, such as convention centers and auditoriums, in mind. For this reason, many of the kits have been distributed to venues in Providence. RIEMA held a similar event in 2018, where kits were distributed. The addition of a training program accounts for the updates that have been made since 2018.

The kits, the training program, and the active shooter plan are funded by grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The cost of administering the trainings, the kits, and the creation of the active threat plan is about $110,000.